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As central banks move away from ultra-loose monetary policy, and the global economic expansion matures, bond fund managers will need to ensure their portfolios draw on a truly diverse range of sources of return and carefully consider portfolio risk if they are to generate yield in the current market environment.

"Some of those members also noted a downside risk to inflation arising from the possibility that the reduction in the economy's supply potential following the recession had been less, and hence spare capacity greater, than assumed in the Inflation Report."

A number of members felt these medium-term risks were balanced by upside pressures, including increases in prices as firms seeking to increase margins, the expectation of subdued wage growth and weak productivity growth.

However, in the short term, they expected inflation to "fall sharply in the coming months" as the impact of last year's increase in the VAT rate, higher energy and import prices wears off.

One factor singled out as a threat to the Bank's strategy on inflation was commodity prices, as "heightened tensions in the Middle East raised the risk of a sharp rise in oil prices".